If you are planning your tour in London, without any doubt the London Eye is a must-see attraction. It is a great way to see panoramic views of London and make stunning pictures. It is situated on the South bank of the river Thames and is 135 meters tall. It was opened to the public in 2000.
10 things you might want to know about the London Eye
1. The London Eye is not a Ferris wheel. It’s the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel.
2. On average more tourists visit the London Eye per year than the Great Pyramids of Giza on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt and the Taj Mahal, an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra.
3. The London Eye can carry as many people during one rotation as 11 London red double-deckers busses. That means that 800 people can ride this attraction at the same time!
4. Kate Moss, the British supermodel and actress has set a record for a UK celebrity visiting the London Eye 25 times.
5. There are 32 capsules on the London Eye which represent 32 London boroughs ( /ˈbʌrə/ — a town or part of a city) and each one weighs as much as 1,052,632 pound coins.
6. In spite of the fact that there are 32 capsules all in all, for superstitious reasons they have numbers from 1 to 33. There is no capsule with number 13 on the wheel to avoid bad luck.
7. Capsules travel at a very slow speed which is only 26 cm per second which is twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting.
8. When the weather is fine, you can see up to 40 kilometers in all directions from the top of the London Eye and that is as far as Windsor Castle.
9. In December 2005 the London Eye was lit pink during the first Civil Partnership celebration that was performed on the wheel. Dave Cook, 36 and James Wright, 30, from Clapham, exchanged their vows on the London Eye.
10. The London Eye had a predecessor /ˈpriːdɪˌsesə/ предшественник, the Great Wheel, which was built at Earl’s Court, London for the Empire of India Exhibition. It was opened to the public in on 17 July 1895. It was 94 meters tall and 82.3 meters in diameter. It stayed in service until 1906.
